Every UCLA football Saturday, whether at the Rose Bowl or on the road, has so much more to it than a win or a loss. That’s why each postgame Monday, the Daily Bruin will break down the Bruins’ most recent game, outlining the good, the bad and the verdict for their performance.
This week, we take a closer look at UCLA’s 35-14 win over USC on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Good: Backfield runs wild
A methodical, up-tempo UCLA attack perhaps never looked as good this season as it did Saturday night. UCLA’s top three yardage men on offense all operated out of the backfield, with redshirt freshman running back Paul Perkins and his 113 all-purpose yards leading the way. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brett Hundley racked up 80 rushing yards for two touchdowns, while redshirt junior running back Jordon James, in his first action in nearly a month, contributed 76 total yards receiving and rushing.
According to Hundley, USC employed man coverage with single safety help for most of the game. The Trojans stifled downfield passes, with no UCLA wide receiver topping 40 yards. But with the Trojans’ secondary zeroed in on receivers, the Bruins’ backfield took center stage.
Perkins’ and James’ most notable plays came through short passes, and both running backs proved instrumental to each of UCLA’s first three scoring drives. James reintroduced himself to Bruins fans by following up a red-zone false start for UCLA with a 13-yard catch-and-run that set up his team’s first touchdown of the game. James also contributed a grinding 54 rushing yards on 16 carries in his return to the field.
Big gains from Perkins put UCLA in USC territory on the following two point-producing drives. He converted a dump-off pass into a 32-yard gain to the USC 18 in a second-quarter possession that gave UCLA a 14-0 lead. Perkins turned in another play of more than 30 yards in the third quarter, taking a screen pass to the USC 17 in running 36 yards for the game’s biggest offensive gain. By the end of the drive, UCLA had restored a two-possession lead at 21-7.
Bad: Starting right tackle ejected
‘Handling punches to the mouth’ sits among football coaches’ many ways of describing difficult situations and physical styles of play. Freshman Caleb Benenoch may have taken the idea too close to the heart when the starting right tackle clocked and downed USC’s J.R. Tavai, delivering a first-quarter blow to an already makeshift offensive line. Benenoch received an ejection for his strike, leaving his fellow linemen to deal with defensive-line talents like George Uko and Leonard Williams that hardly hit the sideline.
The potential existed for Hundley to run for his life as much as he did for openings in the Trojans’ defense. But UCLA hardly missed a beat with redshirt sophomore Ben Wysocki inserted at right tackle. The Bruins limited a heralded Trojans front to just two sacks and made ample use of short passes and quarterback runs in the 35-point offensive performance.
A penalty issue so prevalent with the Bruins this season subsided for the second straight week in Los Angeles: Benenoch’s 15-yard penalty would be one of only four penalties, all occurring the first half. An ejection nonetheless represents among the costliest penalties in football, and growth for the program moving forward would include not losing starters to composure issues in a 0-0 game.
Verdict: Biggest Win in Recent Memory
Facing a USC team that had just beaten Stanford two weeks ago, UCLA already faced an uphill battle.
Add that to the fact that the Bruins hadn’t won at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1997 and a four-point spread heading into the game almost looked a little too low.
The Bruins beat the Trojans 38-28 last year at the Rose Bowl, but fell just shy of being considered completely legitimate. When it happens two years in a row, the success becomes a lot more difficult to ignore.
“It was a big win for us,” Hundley said. “Nobody gave us credit last year.”
On Saturday, UCLA played its most complete game of the season, scoring at least one touchdown in each quarter and limiting the Trojans to just 314 yards of total offense.
UCLA’s Rose Bowl dreams will have to sit on the shelf until at least next year, but 16 years between victories over USC at the Coliseum was a long time to wait.
Player of the Game: QB Brett Hundley (RS So.)
On Saturday, Hundley didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the first time all season and just the second time in his UCLA football career.
Bouncing back from a tough loss to Arizona State in which his lone interception was returned for a crucial touchdown, Hundley played mistake-free football against one of the toughest defensive fronts the Bruins have faced all season. It showed in the analytics as he registered his highest adjusted quarterback rating (QBR) of the season at 98.4, just the third time he’s been over 90 in that category in 2013.
Hundley also had that performance behind an offensive line that lost right tackle Caleb Benenoch in the first quarter due to ejection. In his place, Wysocki effectively filled the hole. Hundley was sacked just twice and completed 18 of his 27 pass attempts.
In front of cameras and reporters, coach Jim Mora made an impassioned pitch for his quarterback to stay in college and hold off on an early exit to the NFL. Hundley, who wore Superman socks to his postgame press conference, said his decision will be made after the season, but thanked his piecemeal offensive line and his receivers while he had the chance.
“Our offensive line did a great job and our receivers balled out,” Hundley said. “They got open all game long and I dished it to them.”
Quote of the Week: Coach Jim Mora, on the win’s recruiting impact
Compiled by Andrew Erickson and Emilio Ronquillo, Bruin Sports senior staff.